Thread: Audio (equip) help!

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ok, I have a few 'talking thru boris' skulls. I've already set two up with mr. thrifty skeletons and they tell jokes back and forth to each other. I have a cd player hooked up to some computer speakers and the micro'bone' taped to each speaker. Simple yet effective.

I have two other boris' (or is that borii?) that I would like to have be interactive. Basically a similar set up as above except instead of a cd player I use a microphone. Now I have several microphones and lots of speakers (non self and self powered) but I don't know what to use to power them??!?!? I can't seem to find any boomboxes or stereo receivers with microphone inputs. I guess this would be some type of PA system or something. What is everyone else using? Anyone have a cheap way to get a simple PA system?


edit: ok, i know the boris is set up to talk thru a microphone but seriously - the sound quality and quantity is a joke.

I use the 40-watt PA Amplifier from Radio Shack to power my giant talking skull. You can find them on eBay for half the list price if you watch for them. You have the benefit of being able to run a microphone (or two) and a separate audio track, and mix them as needed.

So you could have pre-recorded routine running in a loop, and then fade over to the microphone whenever you wanted to personalize the routine.

-dgm

Just wondering what audio you use on your skulls? I wanted to do a borris rock band but cant find any audio with sep. voice/music tracks. I am looking for the voice to come out one speaker and the music another, So they will move their jaws with the voice not the music!

Originally Posted by ghosthunter79

Just wondering what audio you use on your skulls? I wanted to do a borris rock band but cant find any audio with sep. voice/music tracks. I am looking for the voice to come out one speaker and the music another, So they will move their jaws with the voice not the music!

The way I would do it... and am going to do it in fact, is to mix down the audio track into one channel, then record my own voice doing the audio for the vocals. Then I can have the lead singer singing in sync to the music, triggered by my voice which is played at a low volume, and the original music playing at a full volume completely hiding my voice.

To do a full band, I'd mix multiple tracks of my voice triggering back up singers or whatever. I'd do a 5.1 mix of it, burn it to DVD and run it with a 5.1 stereo. Each boris track would be played softly, while the main music mix is played loudly.

I also have an 8 channel mixer I could set up to do this, but the 5.1 is easier. But for a lead singer only, the stereo mix is best.

Originally Posted by dadgonemad

I use the 40-watt PA Amplifier from Radio Shack to power my giant talking skull. You can find them on eBay for half the list price if you watch for them. You have the benefit of being able to run a microphone (or two) and a separate audio track, and mix them as needed.

So you could have pre-recorded routine running in a loop, and then fade over to the microphone whenever you wanted to personalize the routine.

-dgm

DGM. you rock. Thanks for the info. I guess I'll start searching craigslist and ebay. I see PA amps will have multiple inputs but unfortunately they only have a single speaker output. Ideally I'd like to have two microphones that were seperate, left and right. I've sure someone makes it but not at the low price of around $50. thanks again.

Originally Posted by ghosthunter79

Just wondering what audio you use on your skulls? I wanted to do a borris rock band but cant find any audio with sep. voice/music tracks. I am looking for the voice to come out one speaker and the music another, So they will move their jaws with the voice not the music!

my borii just tell jokes back and forth - an idea for you though - there is a boris hack that allows you to by pass the speaker and microbone and just plug the source into a 1/8inch jack (that you put on in place of the microbone). so then you can use audacity to edit your music material - make one channel the song and the other your create for the mouth movements. you dont' have to sing or anything because the sound isn't going to be played. But everytime you do make a sound the mouth will open. I hope you understand what I'm talking about cause I'm afraid i'm not being too clear.

if you have powered speakers you could just get a mixer Behringer EURORACK UB802 Mixer Unpowered at Music123. you can connect your mics, have multiple outputs, etc

Here's a link to the Boris hack that allows you to use an external source for the sound. You also get to bypass the crappy built-in speaker.

Otaku's Boris Hack

Originally Posted by geoffm

DGM. you rock. Thanks for the info. I guess I'll start searching craigslist and ebay. I see PA amps will have multiple inputs but unfortunately they only have a single speaker output. Ideally I'd like to have two microphones that were seperate, left and right. I've sure someone makes it but not at the low price of around $50. thanks again.

Glad I could help. Yeah, that's pretty much the only setback. You can find stereo PA amps, but they'll run ya twice as much. I'm actually running into a similar problem with my audio needs this year. Might just try to get another amp like this one.

-dgm

check out this amp it has plenty of power and is stereo, they are a leap ahead of radio shack as far as quality, you would need a small mixer for a mic and you can go directly into it with line level signal. Nady XA-300 Stereo Power Amplifier Power Amps at Music123.